The Truth about Horse Joint Supplements (Part 3)
HYALURONIC ACID
One of the hottest ingredients in the horse supplement marketplace is Sodium Hyaluronic Acid, or 揌A.?Hyaluronic acid (HA) originally was developed as a drug to be injected into the joint or intravenously, and previously there was little clinical data on oral forms of HA. The original HA products that are currently on the market use Sodium Hyaluronate, which has a very large molecular structure and, like Chondroitin Sulfate, has extremely poor oral absorption. Also, most of the dosage levels on these HA products are far too low to provide the body with support to cartilage that is needed for healthy joint function. Similar to Chondroitin Sulfate (see section above), the HA molecule is quite large (much larger, in fact, than Chondroitin ?see diagrams below), and there was no evidence that the simple HA molecule could be absorbed through the stomach. The diagram below shows how large the Hyaluronic Acid molecule is in relation to the size of the whole proteoglycan ?particularly note the size of the Chondroitin Sulfate strands branching off the central Hyaluronic Acid spine that runs the entire length of the proteoglycan.
HYALURONIC ACID: THE GRAND MEADOWS POINT OF VIEW
As with other ingredients, many of our competitors see HA not as a viable, effective ingredient in improving horse supplements, but as an easy marketing 揾ook?and following on the shirttails of the successful injectable form of Sodium Hyaluronic Acid, in products like Legend? As more and more HA products came to market, the actual level of HA dropped
dramatically, plus it was now blended with Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin Sulfate and other co-factors. The levels of HA in these products dropped dramatically from an average of 100 mg HA in HA only products to 15mg - 20mg in blended products ?(a classic case of window dressing). The reason is simple, HA is primarily harvested from rooster combs and is extremely expensive, a hundred times the cost of Glucosamine. Once HA became branded as a viable ingredient manufacturers felt comfortable putting token amounts of HA in their product so they could claim HA on their labels. Considering that the average dose for humans is 20mg of HA per 150 lb you can see how misleading these blended products are for a 1,000 lb horse. Effective, recommended HA levels for 1,000 lb equines should be 150 ?200 mg per day. There is no doubt that HA is a vital and major constituent of healthy articular cartilage and synovial fluid. Its structure is the simplest of all glycosaminoglycans and forms the backbone of proteoglycans. Hyaluronic Acid is found in connective tissue and manufactured in the synovial membrane and by the chondrocytes. As a major component of synovial fluid it is also essential for proper nutrient delivery.
HYALURONIC ACID: THE GRAND MEADOWS POINT OF VIEW
Grand Meadows was aware of the benefits of HA but, convinced that HA products being introduced were not effective. Selecting a form of HA that could be absorbed into the bloodstream was, therefore, a key requirement. We followed the research from many university studies and researched a pharmaceutical company, BioCell Technology, LLC that had developed BioCell II. This was an exciting new 搒uper?ingredient that offered a logical and well researched approach to joint support. This ingredient has earned three US Patents for its exclusive manufacturing process which results in molecules that have been reduced to 1/90th of their original size through a complex hydration process. BioCell Collagen II represents the first oral HA product whose effectiveness was supported by clinical research for absorption and efficacy. Its unique structures, containing Type II Collagen, Depolymerized Chondroitin Sulfate, Hyaluronic Acid and Glucosamine provides the body with a concentrated sourceof reconstructive materials that make up the cartilage matrix. Grand HA and Grand HA Synergy were two years ago offering our customers the first patented HA oral supplement that has been clinically proven for absorption and efficacy....
